The Jacksons Had Offered AEG a Settlement to Resolve the Case

On Tuesday, during the 15th AEG court session, Kevin Boyle, Catherine Jackson’s lawyer, said that the family had offered the company in January and March to settle the case out of court, but the company had not responded. Boyle did not provide details, but said the Jackson family was willing to drop the case in exchange for damages. The lawyer continued that the company had never taken the initiative to reach an agreement on the case—and worse, it had never apologized to the family.

Marvin Pountam, the company’s lawyer, said that discussing such a settlement was incorrect because: “We don’t negotiate baseless cases.”

The Jackson lawyers had said that, according to Michael’s estimate, if he were alive he could have earned $40 billion. Therefore, $40 billion in damages was mentioned in the lawsuit. But according to the explanation provided by these lawyers, Catherine Jackson was not seeking a $40 billion payout; it is the jury that determines the amount of damages that should be paid to this family, but the amount the Jacksons want is at least $1.5 billion.

Source: eMJey.com / AP